1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a board game system that utilizes a robot arm.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous board game software programs have been developed that enable a user, with the aid of a computer, to play such board games as Chinese chess, chess, the game of “go”, gobang, checkers or even more modern games, such as Monopoly. However, some users may find playing with a computer a little unreal or unnatural, and there are therefore prior art technologies relating to interactive board games relating to robots and people. An example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,720, entitled “Robot Computer Chess Game.” Even though robot arms are a well developed technology, the robot arm disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,720 is still very expensive. Furthermore, an added complexity is introduced when enabling the robot arm to grab different type of, different sized or different shaped pieces (since the gap or distance between two different pieces changes).
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,720 utilizes an actual chessboard, and hence different board games, different chessboards, pieces and control software programs are all required, which introduces significant complexity and requires a highly precise robot arm.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a board game system utilizing a robot arm which is suitable for various board games and which reduces manufacturing cost and system complexity to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems.